The moral bankruptcy of the drug war was highlighted again last week as US officials announced that the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan would be receiving about $43 million in anti-drug funds for forcing farmers to abandon opium crops that had previously been tolerated.

As columnist Robert Scheer pointed out in the Los Angeles Times (below), the Taliban has created one of the world's most repressive governments. Women have been effectively stripped of all rights in Afghanistan, and leaders have caused other recent international uproars by destroying ancient Buddhist statues and announcing that religious minorities will soon be required to wear identification tags.

But all this can be forgiven by the Bush administration, because these totalitarians are allies in the drug war. US leaders and the Taliban are also aware that farmers who had been growing opium will likely starve, but aside from expressing mild regret, they are doing nothing to change the situation.

Please write a letter to the Los Angeles Times to express outrage that the drug war is again being used as an excuse to support cruel oppression.

US CA: Column: Bush's Faustian Deal With The Taliban



Mark Greer, is President and Executive Director, of MAP, Inc.